Power Systems Research (PSR) is an international research company based in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. It operates a second North America office in Detroit, Mich., and has offices in five other countries. PSR analysts have been collecting and analyzing global engine and powertrain data and information since 1976, and we use this data to develop targeted forecasts by industry segment and region.
Our team of experienced analysts works with OEMs, engine and component manufacturers, dealers, fleet managers and industry experts to compile detailed and focused data that has become an industry standard. It’s the leading source of global information on engines and power equipment powered by IC and alternate sources. Whether you need detailed global data, forecasts or customized local market studies, we can provide you with Data, Forecasting and Solutions. Let’s start today.
In the April 2026 issue of PowerTALK News you can read articles about reports from CONEXPO 2026, Alternative Power News, and DataPoint, plus reports on Iran and Tariffs, BYD Developments, and more.
ALTERNATIVE POWER REPORT
A “Failed Experiment”? Biofuels Under Spotlight
US Battery Recycler Lands $1.1B Metals Refining Deal
When Fossil Fuel Supplies Falter, Interest In Renewables Increases
Oil Crisis Makes Drivers Reconsider Electric
DATAPOINT: 2026 Aerator Production GLOBAL REPORT: 2026 Global MHCV Production Gains Seen EUROPE REPORT:
Volvo Moves into Big Electric Equipment
KTM Completes Strategic Realignment and Leap into Premium EVs
SOUTH AMERICA/BRAZIL REPORT:
Import Tax Decision on Buses Is Reversed
Indian Preet Enters Brazil With Tractor Manufacturing Plant
Selic Interest Rate Cut Has Limited Impact in Auto Market
VWCO Tests B100 Soybean Biodiesel in Engines
GAC Plans Vehicle Production in Brazil
JAPAN REPORT: Yanmar To Build Plant for Marine Hydrogen Engines SOUTH KOREA REPORT: HD Construction Sets Electric Safety Training System PHILIPINES REPORT: Power Shortages Boost Reliance on Generators CHINA REPORT: Zhangxue Demonstrates Strength of “Made in China” INDIA REPORT: Ashok Leyland Takes Major Step Toward EV Leadership
The April 2026 issue of the Alternative Power Report produced by Power Systems Research and authored by Guy Youngs, features articles on problems with biofuels in Europe and how drivers consider EVs again. Read these articles and more in the April 2026 issue of Alternative Power Report today. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast and Technology Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
6,200 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Aerators expected to be produced in North America during 2026.
Aerators are machines that have tines for soil penetration. The process involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots.
Study shows PHEVs exceed government estimates. There have been several studies that suggest that hybrid electric vehicles (also called PHEVs) are simply not the great environment saver that the marketing people are suggesting. A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute shows that on average, PHEVs use more than three times as much fuel as government estimates suggest.
The study is highly credible as it was based around on-board fuel consumption monitoring data from a massive 981,035 vehicles across Europe.
A gap of over 300% is severe and makes it hard for the EU to regulate something when the estimated numbers are so wildly different from reality. The EU is aware of this problem, and is taking some measures to fix it
Recently in Australia, Protrans Solutions conducted a successful trial with a battery-electric refrigerated trailer charged by onboard solar panels on the 1,100 miles Sydney-Brisbane round trip without using diesel to refrigerate the trailer unit. This demonstrates a depot-to-depot cold-chain capability.
But that’s easy, I hear you say, its Australia and its sunny. Well, how about cold and snowy Canada? Transport Canada’s Zero-Emission Trucking Program, recently published a study which monitored over than 200 thousand kms (124,224 miles) of diesel and electric truck data over a year of operations in the Montreal-area. There findings were staggering with nearly $200k of savings per electric truck
Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK, and the Fire Service Academy in Poland, have undertaken a detailed comparison of three key battery technologies: conventional lithium-ion, emerging sodium-ion (SIB), and solid-state batteries (SSB)
They report that high energy lithium types (such as NMC battery variants) are more prone to fire risks (often referred to as thermal runaway) and these can become structural unstable when highly charged, leading to a potential fire risk. They also noted that thermal stability declines as nickel content increases. However, Lithium iron phosphate (LFP), is more robust and can thermal runaway even above 300 °C, making it less prone to fire risks. However, it offers lower voltage and energy density.
274,253 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Snowblowers expected to be produced in North America during 2026.
A Snow Blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, ice rink, or runway. It can use either electric power (line power or battery), or a gasoline or diesel engine to throw snow to another location or into a truck to be hauled away.
Snow blowers range from the very small, capable of removing only a few inches (a few more cm) of light snow in an 18 to 20 in (457 to 508 mm) path, to the very large units, mounted on heavy-duty winter service vehicles and capable of moving 20-foot (6.10 m) wide swaths of heavy snow up to 6 feet (1.83 m) deep.
Strait of Hormuz. On Saturday, Feb. 28, the USA and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran which resulted, among other things, in the death of several of Iran’s senior leadership, including the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Apart from targeting the leadership, the attacks were also aimed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the Iranian paramilitary organization whose official role is to support the Islamic Republic).
Iran has long threatened, if attacked, to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets. So, in retaliation, Iran has launched a series of attacks on gulf states, Cyprus, the US Navy carrier groups in the Gulf and the Mediterranean. The US responded to these attacks by wiping out the Iranian navy and hitting various missile sites in Iran.
Americans are warily eyeing prices at the pump as oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz grind to a halt amid the threat of Iranian attacks on vessels. The IEA took the unprecedented step of saying it would release 400 million barrels of oil from reserve on Wednesday. But oil is far from the only product for which the world economy is heavily dependent on the shallow, narrow waterway which connects Persian Gulf ports with the rest of the world. From the metals market to agriculture and autos, a de facto closure of the strait would ripple through business sectors and both the U.S. and world economy.
Aluminum is a good example. It is one of the biggest non-petroleum commerce casualties of the U.S.-Iran war. In 2025, the Middle East accounted for roughly 21% of unwrought aluminum imports and 13% of wrought aluminum imports — and those percentages have been rising. Unwrought aluminum is the raw, unprocessed metal in forms like ingots and billets, while wrought aluminum has been mechanically shaped into sheets, rods, or other finished forms used directly in manufacturing.
LAS VEGAS—Power Systems Research (PSR) sent a team of analysts to the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 Show to talk with exhibitors and about the state of the industry and to learn more about new products.
You can read their impressions of the show, their takeaways from talking withexhibitors and attendees about the state of the industry, and the information they gathered about innovative new products.
Interestingly, the PSR team didn’t see big movement to battery power. They saw more hybrids and hydrogen power moving forward. Battery seemed to be relegated to smaller machines.
CONEXPO – Summary Report 